Flyers go for three in a row against struggling Devils

NHL.com

Flyers go for three in a row against struggling DevilsNew Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers

FIVE THINGS – NJ DEVILSDEVILS (4-5-1) at FLYERS (7-4-1)

1. BACK-TO-BACK FOR BOTH
Both the Flyers and Devils will be playing the back end of games on back-to-back nights … The Flyers earned a 3-2 win over the Sabres at Buffalo last night, while the New Jersey Devils are coming off a 5-3 loss on home ice to the Toronto Maple Leafs … both teams are 0-1 this season in the second part of back-to-backs.

2. HOT N’ COLD
The Flyers come into tonight’s game having won two straight games, outscoring their opponent 8-3 in the process, while the Devils have lost three straight games and five of their last six contests.

3. STREAK KEEPS GOING
Dating back to last season, the Flyers currently have a shutout streak 62:46 against the New Jersey Devils… Ilya Bryzgalov provided the shutout of the first meeting this season, making 20 saves in the process.

4. Players to watch out for – FLYERS: Scott Hartnell
Few players are hotter in the league than Scott Hartnell, who now has 10 points in his last five games… Hartnell has recorded at least a point in all five games, and currently owns a three-game goal-scoring streak.

5. Players to watch out for – DEVILS: Patrik Elias
Over the span of 71 career games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Patrik Elias owns 32 goals and 70 points against the Flyers, which is the second most of any active player in the NHL with the other being Jaromir Jagr.

GAME PREVIEW

DEVILS (4-5-1) at FLYERS (7-4-1)

TV: MSG PLUS; CSN-Philadelphia

Last 10: Philadelphia 5-4-1

Season Series: It's the second of six meetings this season and the first at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers spoiled the Devils' season-opener with a 3-0 win at Prudential Center on Oct. 8.

Big Story: The Devils will give Martin Brodeur the night off after his return on Wednesday, in which he was rusty in a 5-3 home loss to Toronto. Philadelphia has bounced back after last Thursday's 9-8 debacle against Winnipeg with two straight winning efforts, including a 3-2 victory in Buffalo on Wednesday.

Team Scope:

Devils : Brodeur's return after missing nearly three weeks with a shoulder injury produced a highlight-reel save on NHL scoring leader Phil Kessel in the third period. Unfortunately for the future Hall of Famer and his teammates, it came after the Leafs had scored five times in the first two periods on the way to a 5-3 victory. Joffrey Lupul scored three times against Brodeur, including twice in the second period after New Jersey had tied the game three times.

Brodeur faced only 23 shots, but coach Peter DeBoer wasn't blaming his goaltender for the loss.

"Marty has worked his butt off to rehab and I didn't think we did a good job around him, supporting him considering the circumstances," DeBoer said. "We didn't give up a huge number of shots, but we gave up some quality chances. We left some people unchecked. Three goals should be enough for us to win a game and it wasn't."

Flyers: One week ago, the Flyers' goaltending was in disarray after both starter Ilya Bryzgalov and backup Sergei Bobrovsky were torched in the loss to Winnipeg. But Bryzgalov, who said afterward that he had "lost his way," appears to have found it: He's allowed just three goals in back-to-back wins and made 29 saves -- including a pair of game-savers on Sabres' sniper Thomas Vanek in the final minute -- in Buffalo.

"You know, I just try and stop the puck," he said after making an early 3-0 lead stand up.

Who's Hot: Devils forward Patrik Elias scored a power-play goal against Toronto, giving him points in eight of New Jersey's 10 games. … Scott Hartnell's goal, which capped a three-goal surge in the first 6:23 and knocked out Sabres starter Ryan Miller, was his fifth in five games; he has 10 points in that span.

Injury Report: Devils forward Eric Boulton may also be ready to play again after missing the last four games with a sore hand. … Flyers center Danny Briere and forward Matt Read sat out Wednesday with upper-body injuries, Defenseman Chris Pronger is on IR with an eye injury.

Stat Pack: Before Wednesday, Brodeur hadn't surrendered three goals to one player since Minnesota's Marian Gaborik had a hat trick on Feb. 17, 2004. … Elias' power-play goal Wednesday was the 93rd of his career, breaking a tie with John MacLean for the most in franchise history.

Puck Drop: Perhaps the lone consolation for the Devils on Wednesday was that Brodeur came out of the game confident that his injured shoulder was OK. His brilliant stop on Kessel was the same kind of play on which he was injured on Oct. 13.

"That was a good test for my shoulder," Brodeur said. "That's exactly the way I got hurt, so I was able to get up with no pain, nothing. I was happy about that, I had a little smile on my face. When I got up, I knew, 'OK, this is good.'

"It's always tough when you come back from an injury when you know you didn't fix it, you just rehabbed it. It's a lot different when you do a surgery. For me it was a big test to go through the game. I definitely would've liked a better result. I didn't play well at all, but at least I got my game under my belt and that was important for me."